Native visionOS platform support

Strategic value vs distraction for Godot

• Many argue visionOS is an extremely niche, expensive platform and official support would impose a long‑term maintenance and coordination burden on Godot for minimal benefit.
• Concern: once “official,” every engine change must consider visionOS, slowing core development and diluting effort needed to compete with Unity/Unreal.
• Others counter that Godot already supports niche targets; if there is demand and Apple is contributing engineers, this is the ideal way for a small open‑source engine to gain new platform support.

Core integration vs plugin / extension

• Several commenters suggest visionOS should be a plugin rather than in‑engine support.
• People familiar with the PR note this is unrealistic: visionOS is a separate OS with different build/runtime constraints, so platform hooks must touch core. A plugin model fits “VR as an option on an existing OS,” not a new OS.

Apple’s motives, standards, and open source behavior

• Skeptical view: Apple benefits far more than Godot; this is about boosting Vision Pro content while offloading maintenance to the community. Without OpenXR support or broader Godot investment, it’s seen as “high‑maintenance code” dropped on maintainers.
• Others see it as a positive: Apple helping an open engine instead of doing a closed fork; similar to contributions to OBS or WebGPU work.
• Strong debate over Apple’s refusal to support Vulkan/OpenXR and insistence on Metal/visionOS‑specific APIs. Some want Godot to “insist” on OpenXR; others say Godot has no leverage and that this PR only adds basic build support, not XR features.

Maintenance, funding, and process concerns

• Worries that Apple opened a very large PR without prior design discussion, initially with issues (e.g., bundling paths), implying ongoing support work for Godot maintainers.
• Multiple calls for Apple to donate money, headsets, or sponsor dedicated maintainers if they expect long‑term support.

VR / Vision Pro viability

• Long, mixed discussion on whether VR and Vision Pro are a shrinking niche or a “pre‑iPhone” early stage.
• Some see Vision Pro as a technical marvel but commercially weak: limited install base, high price, few compelling apps beyond virtual monitors and 3D movies, and no native OpenXR or VR controllers.
• Others argue Apple can play a long game toward lightweight AR glasses, and having Godot support visionOS now could pay off if that future materializes.